Bobby pin setter



March 24, 1953 F. REDO 2,632,451

BOBBY PIN SETTER Filed April 15, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 jay .2

INVENTOR.

HTTORNZT.

Patented Mar. 24, 1953 umrreo stares The'; invention relates to' a hobby pinsetter:- In, styling; a woman's hair bobby; pins are-freequently used. The conventional way of applying;

as bobby pin" properly requires the ,"foll owing op.-

erations': Anarro'w. strand of hair is" parted -offe': g,, with the tailend off a. rat tailcombyheld taut" and combed smootli" whereupon} the comb: is. laid down and the strand is wound-"around the. index finger of the hand originally; holding the comb or the strand is wound around the tail e'nd of the comb which, then, is laid down; Thereafter, whilethe'onei hand holds the curl in place, abobby pin is picked up, openedwiththe? finger nails or mostly with the teeth and finally appliedto' the curl. This conventional procedure is objectionable for the main reason that frequently the fingernails are broken orthe' teeth are injuredinfo'pening the pin, 1. e; in the spreading apart'of the strongly resilient pin legs.

Furthermore, the steps of preparing the pins for application and the laying down of the comb" and taking itiup'again are time consuming, and

pin. can be picked up. held with its legs spread apart; then, applied to theusershair in a desired position, and finally" released when in the desired position; The-invention further contemplates-the provision of meansto hold a plurality of bobbypins insuch a mannerthatone after thepther-canbereadiIy picked'up by the'firstmentioned means.

In the preferred form of the invention the pin setter is combined with a rat" tail comb, wherebythe" preparation ofthehair for thesetting of the pin as Well as its application can be accomplished with one instrumentality; and the parts o'f'the combination are in such relationship to one another that all manipulations can be accomplished without a change of" theusers grip onthe-device.

Further objects and details of'the invention will be apparent-fromthe description given here-- matter and the accompanying drawing illustratingan embodiment thereof "by way=ofexampl'e. Inthe drawing,

Fig; 1 is a-top planview of abobby pin setter according to the invention in combination witharattail comb,

Figs." 2 and3 are a side elevation and-a bottom plan view'thereof, respectively, parts-beingbrokem awa Figi 4- is a cross-sectionalong line 4+4 in; Fig. 11'

Fig.) 5 is A a top-planview of a -pin rack for' use with th'e, setter part Fig:- 6 is a cross-section along; line 6-4? of Fig; his a=top-plan view of a racleholderg;

Fig: 8 is-a cross-sectionalong; line 8==-8-* of} Fig, 7,

Fig. 9 is atop plan view of the rack ofyliig. 5 positioned 'in theholder of *Fig; 7;

Fig; 10 is a partiahcross-section along-line iiii i! of Fig; 9)

Figs; 11; 12 and-13 illustrate-thepickingup oi a'bobbypindnthree different stages;

Fig, 14' illustrates the releasing ofa pin fromthe setter,

Fig; 15 is" a top plan View of' a modified setterf and Fig; 16*is ;atop plan View" of-"modified pin rack? Refeiring now to the drawing; Figs; 1' to; 4: show the bobbypin' setting; device in combinationwitha comb-i of atype conventionally used; order to apply bobby pinsto the hair. Thef combhas the toothed portion 2-"anda rat t'ail' portionfit From-the'baclr of the comb; approxi mately where thetoothedpart 2 and-=tli-- tail; 3: meet; a=fiat"body'portion A ext ends substantially at; right "angles to; the plane oi-thecomb; Body 4' of, the illustrated-'- embodiment is of le-shap butmay be of" any other suitable configuration:- Its loweredgeis recessed at firnear oneoi its ends so: as to. form a: hook-like projection 6" with its tonguej? facing another; substantially flat proj ec tion 83 which constitutes" an abutment for apurpese to be" explained herein-after. Another hqoktis; movably attached tothebo'dy i. The tongue; Ii! of" hOQkf'Q is directedtowards the; abutr'nentt, and thehook has a pivot at- H at a point between the comb i and abutment; 8, that meana, when the flat body-4f is held with the'abutment downward, apoint above theabut merit andbetween the latter and the opening of; the hook 9' so that the-hook 9to swing-towardsthe latter owing toits gravity and that it will; turn the opposite direction if pressure is egertedon'its tongue; lirfrom below. Means are pr'twided'to prevent" the hook from turning-in; a; clockwise" direction in Fig. z beyond apoint -at which tongue in -is on a level somewhathigher than; that of the abutment 8: For this purpose, the pivoted hojolvportion l2 is forked; so that further downward movementof the hook iss-toppe'd when the fork bottom l3 bears against theedge war body's-"asin-Fig. 2. Hook) 9 1s?- furthermore, provided with a little projectiomli; which extends in: the direction of'the combiteeth and serves; $51.31 grip forr the iusensifinger iniorder; toalift: hookrfi. Theiinside oi? tongue; Ill. is pr =1 vided with-'zaishallow groove 1 Qt: a Wi th ac.

cording to that of a bobby pin for which the setter is destined. A groove ll of the same width is provided in the lower face of abutment 8. This groove preferably increases in depth in the direction of hook 6. The tongue I of the latter is also grooved at I8 and at its tip is slightly recessed at l9 so that the flanks of the recess, in a sense, constitute guide rails leading into the groove |8.

The bobby pin setter of Figs. 1 to 4 is useful I to pick up a bobby pin to hold it with its legs spread apart, and to release it when applied to the hair. Although it is possible to use the setter by placing the head of the pin into the recess 5 of the hook 6 and bending the one pin leg so that it bears against the abutment 8 and its end is engaged by hook 9, the full utility of the setter can be enjoyed in combination with a means which is also part of the invention and which so holds the bobby pin that it can be readily picked up by the setter in a semiautomatic manner. Such device is illustrated in Figs. 5 to 10 and will now be described.

The device is designed as a rack in general denoted by 20, which has a flat base 2| of substantially rectangular shape. An upwardly protruding ledge 22 along one of the sides of the rectangle is either integral with or secured to the base 2|. The ends of the ledge may be spaced a short distance from the adjacent sides of the base as shown at 23 and 24. A ramp 25 of short height and slight inclination projects from the ledge forward, i. e. towards the opposite edge '26 of the base. The top surface of the latter is provided with a plurality of grooves 21, for instance twenty according to the number of bobby pins 28 the rack is intended to accommodate. Very close to ramp 25, the bottoms of the grooves gradually rise to the top surface of the foot of the ramp. The depth and width of the grooves 2'! are selected according to the dimensions of the lower leg 29 of a bobby pin, i. e. that leg which is supposed to be applied to the users hair, and the distance from the front edge 26 to the ledge 22 should be so selected that a pin 28 in the position of Fig. 6 projects with its loop or head portion 30 forward from the edge 26. As mentioned hereinbefore the ledge' 22 need not extend the whole width of the rack base. However, it should extend opposite the ends of all the grooves 21. Parallel to ledge 22 a bar 3| having an inclined front flank 32 is secured to base 2| at a short distance from the foot of the ramp '25, so that the bar bridges the grooves 21.

Now, it will be clear that for charging the rack, each bobby pin 28 can be shifted in a groove 2! with its lower leg 29 underneath bar 3| while the upper pin leg 33 will be raised by the inclined flank 32. When the end of the lower leg has passed the bar it will be slightly lifted by the ramp 25 until it finally abuts against the ledge 22. This is the position shown in Fig. 6 in which the legs 29 and 33 are spread slightly apart and the end 34 of the upper leg projects rearwardly beyond the bar 3|. It will be noticed that the ramp 25 causes a slight upward bend of the end 35 of the lower leg 29. This is desirable in order to insure that the pin portion adjacent the head 30 is firmly located in the coordinate groove 21.

Means are preferably provided to clamp the rack 20 so to the top board of a dressing table that it cannot be readily shifted in the direction of the grooves 21. A rack holder for that purpose is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 which is of such a design that a rack can be readily exchanged for another one. The holder in general denoted by 4|] comprises a plate 4| with an upwardly projecting rim 42 along its rear edge, and with another rim 43 along its front edge. The front rim is preferably a little lower than the thickness of the rack base 2| in order not to interfere with the heads of the bobby pin when the rack edge 26 bears against the rim 43. A leaf spring M is secured to the rim 42 and projects with its bight towards the front rim of the plate 4| which is approximately of the same width as but somewhat longer than the rack 2|). The front corners of the plate 4| are provided with small flange pieces 45 and 46 to form short channels 41 and 48 of a height according to the thickness of the rack base 2|. From the middle of the front of plate 4| a resilient hook-shaped extension 49 projects by means of which the holder can be clamped to a table board.

In order to apply a rack to the holder, the rack will be placed with its rear edge against the spring 4 3 and then, pushed back against the tension of the spring until the front corners 59 and 5! which for this purpose may be rounded, can slide forward into the channels t! and Q33, respectively. In order to facilitate the application of the rack to the holder the latter may be provided with lateral recesses 52 and 53, and the rack may have corresponding projections 5 and 55 serving as finger grips. Figs. 9 and 10 show the rack 20 applied. It is, of course, possible to make the clamping means integral with a rack as shown in Fig. 16. In this modification the rack |20 is similar to the rack 20, except that it is provided with a clamping hook N9 of the kind of hook 49 of the holder 66. However, I have found it preferable to make the rack and the holder as separate pieces since the space required for one holder and a plurality of racks without clamps is smaller than the same number of racks with integral clamps.

The bobby pin setter in combination with the rack will be used in the following manner: The rack charged with bobby pins will be clamped in position. After a strand of hair has been combed and curled as hereinbeiore described, the curl is held with the one hand while the users other hand holding the comb with the setter downward, applies the latter so that the hook 6 engages the head fit of a bobby pin 28 as shown in Fig. 11. The recess l9 and groove l8 of the hook tongue 1 facilitate the proper locating of the pin head. It will be noticed that the corner of abutment 3 adjacent hook 6 bears on top of the upper pin leg 33 which engages the groove i1. Now the setter is turned about that corner in a clock-wise direction, thereby the head portion of the pin will be bent upward and the tongue N3 of the pivoted hook 9 will come to bear on top of the end 34 of the upper pin leg. When turning of the device in the stated manner is continued, pressure by the leg end 34 acting on hook 9 will turn the latter about its pivot H in a counter-clockwise direction until the tongue it has cleared the leg end 34 whereupon hook 9 owing to gravity will drop down to catch the end 34 from its lower side. This position is that of Fig. 12. The bobby pin is now firmly gripped. By pulling the setter in the direction of the pin head, the pin can be Withdrawn from the rack. If this is done all bending stress on the lower pin leg 29 is relieved so that it straightens out whereas the upper pin leg 33 is strongly bent owing to the fact that the I abutment 8 projects from the connecting line of the points where the head and the end of leg 33 are supported. Thus, the legs of the pin held by the setter are widely spread apart as illustrated in Fig. 13. In this position, the pin is slid with its lower leg underneath the curl or strand of hair, the setter being held as shown in Fig. 14. When the pin is properly placed, thumb pressure on the projection I5 from below will release the hook 9 from holding position so that the upper leg 33 will snap down to clamp the curl or strand conventionally required so that a great saving of time can be made if a large number of pins are needed for a desired hair styling.

, In the embodiment of my invention hereinbefore described, the setter has been shown in combination with a rat tail, comb, as I have found that in such combination the advantages of my invention can be realized to their fullest extent. However, it will be clear that the setter may also be advantageously used if combined with another type of comb or even separate from any comb. In any event, however, I have found it to be advisable that whatever hand grip is provided, such grip should be in a plane substantially at right angles to the setter body. As an example Fig. 15 shows the setter body I00 which is of the same, design as body 4 in the preceding figures, with a flat handle I0! in a plane at right angles thereto.

Many alterations and modifications of the structure shown and described will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departure from the essence and spirit of my invention which for that reason shall not be limited but by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bobby pin setter comprising a substantially fiat body having an edge recessed to receive therein the head of a bobby pin and to support said head on the side of one of the legs of said pin an abutment projecting from said edge and engageable by the other pin leg between its free end and said head, and a hook pivoted to said body so as to rock in the plane thereof and being adapted to grip the end of said other leg of said pin releasably and to hold said other leg against said abutment and bent away from the first mentioned leg of said pin when said head is engaged in said recess.

2. A bobby pin setter comprising a body including a first hook-like projection adapted to receive therein the head of a bobby pin, and another projection constituting an abutment, said abutment being spaced from said hook-like projection on said head is locatedin said hook-like projection,

and a second hook-like member movably at tached to said body and adapted to grip said free end of said leg and to hold said leg bent away by said first hook-like projection and said abutment.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, said movable hook including a grip portion for the user to release said movable hook from its holding position.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2, comprising two substantially flat portions in planes, respectively, at a right angle to each other, said first hook-like projection and said abutment being integral with one of said portions which constitutes said body, and said other portion constituting a handle.

5. A device as claimed in claim 2, said movable hook-like member being pivoted to said body at a point which, when said device is held with said abutment downward, is located above said abutment and between said abutment and the opening of said movable hook-like member whereby said movable hook-like member has the tendency of turning towards said downwardly held abutment, and of turning in the opposite direction when pressure is exerted on the tongue of said movable hook-like member from below.

6. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the inside of the tongue of the hook-like projection and the edge of said abutment are grooved to receive in said grooves said pin head and said adjacent leg, respectively.

'7. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the inside of the tongue of said hook-like projection is grooved to receive said pin head in said groove and the tip of said tongue is recessed so that the flanks of said recess are adapted to guide the head of said pin into said groove.

8. A rack for a plurality of bobby pins in positions so as to be picked up by a setting device,

comprising a flat substantially rectangular base including a ledge projecting from the top surface along one of its sides, the width of the base between said ledge and the opposite side being shorter than a bobby pin for which the rack is destined, a ramp of small height and slight inclination extending from said ledge a short distance towards said opposite side, said base being provided with a plurality of parallel grooves extending from said opposite side of said base to the foot of said ramp and being of a depth according to the thickness of one leg of one of said bobby pins, a bar parallel to said ledge and secured to said base a short distance from the foot of said ramp, said bar having an inclined flank facing said opposite side.

9. A rack as claimed in claim 8, said rack further comprising a clamping means in connection with said base to secure said rack to a table plate.

10. A rack as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a holder including a clamping means to secure said holder to a table plate, said base being releasably attached to said holder.

FELIX REDO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent? UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,271,765 Hildebrand Feb. 3, 1942 2,444,378 Sewol June .29, 1948 

